Foresters work on project to inventory trees in Colorado

Colorado State Forest Service arborists have completed the first phase of a project designed to create a statewide inventory of urban and community forests.

"Although this is only a random sampling of trees in Colorado communities, this project will complement existing tree inventory data and fill in the inventory gaps necessary for community foresters to make tree management decisions," said Vince Urbina, community forester for the Colorado State Forest Service, said in a press release

The inventory is expected to help foresters around the state address concerns like emerald ash borer -- an invasive insect pest first confirmed in Colorado last month. The ash borer has already killed or weakened millions of ash trees in 21 states.

In the first phase of work, contractor Davey Resource Group compiled tree inventory data on 200 randomly selected, one-tenth acre plots in communities along the Interstate 76, Interstate 70 and U.S. 50 corridors in eastern Colorado.

They looked at tree size, canopy density, number of trees by species, overall health, environmental benefits and crown condition. The data will be used to determine susceptibility to invasive pests. Analysis of the Phase I data should be complete by Dec. 1, and will be made available to Colorado's community foresters.

The second phase of Colorado's tree inventory project began this month, with 40 plots completed in Grand Junction and others started on the northern Front Range. Fall conditions and the loss of leaves on deciduous trees stalled the work, but the second phase will resume in Front Range communities in early summer 2014.